Gregory Dunlap, a former special agent in charge of the Bureau of Industry and Security's Office of Export Enforcement, has joined Akin as a senior regulatory adviser. Dunlap most recently oversaw export controls and sanctions investigations at BIS and also worked at DOJ for more than eight years, including in the National Security Division.
Senate Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., a member of the committee, told Nvidia May 28 that they’re concerned the U.S. AI chipmaker’s planned research facility in Shanghai “risks violating the spirit, if not the written word, of U.S. export control regulations.”
The EU this week officially lifted sanctions against Syria (see 2505210030) except for certain restrictions related to the Bashar Assad regime and "those related to security," the European Commission said. "The EU stands ready to support the Syrian people in the rebuilding of their country, based on a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned process that provides for its people," the commission said. "The EU will continue monitoring developments on the ground, including inclusiveness, progress on reforms and accountability with regard to recent violence outbreaks, as well as the effects of the lifting of economic sanctions."
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned Philippines-based Funnull Technology Inc. and its administrator, Liu Lizhi, for providing computer infrastructure for hundreds of thousands of websites involved in virtual currency investment scams. OFAC said Americans lose billions of dollars annually in these scams, which are known as "pig butchering."
President Donald Trump this week said he hasn't yet decided to impose new sanctions against Russia because he believes it could still hurt the possibility of a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls this week released its notifications to Congress of recently proposed export licenses. The notifications, which cover licenses submitted from October through December, include exports to Germany, the Netherlands, India, Denmark, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is suspending and revoking existing export licenses for a range of items destined to China, including chip-related design software and civil aviation items, two people familiar with the matter said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is aiming to roll back a Biden-era interim final rule that increased restrictions on firearms exports, two people familiar with the matter said.
Adam Small, a former trial lawyer in DOJ's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section who prosecuted export control and sanctions cases, is joining GE Aerospace as senior counsel, he announced on LinkedIn. Small left DOJ this month after first joining in 2011.
Matthew Olsen, who led DOJ’s National Security Division during the Biden administration, has joined WilmerHale as co-chair of the law firm's defense, national security and government contracts practice, he announced on LinkedIn. Olsen will advise on export controls, sanctions, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., government investigations, congressional oversight and more.